Nikon D1
Encyclopedia
The Nikon D1 is a digital single-lens reflex camera
introduced on June 15, 1999. It featured a 2.7 megapixel image sensor, 4.5 frames per second continuous shooting, and accepted the full range of Nikon F-mount
lenses. The camera body strongly resembled the F5
and had the same general layout of controls, allowing users of Nikon film SLR cameras to quickly become proficient in using the camera. Autofocus speed on the D1 series bodies is extremely fast, even with "screw-driven" AF lenses.
Although Nikon and other manufacturers had produced digital SLR cameras for several years prior, the D1 was the first professional digital SLR that displaced Kodak's then-undisputed reign over the professional market.
Unusual for a DSLR, the D1 uses the NTSC
color space instead of the conventional sRGB or Adobe RGB color spaces. The resulting color on the D1 can be a bit unorthodox, but methods of correcting and/or compensating for the color problem are readily available.
The D1 was replaced by the D1H and D1X on February 5, 2001. The D1X offered higher resolution with a 3,008 × 1,960 - 5.3 effective megapixels sensor, and continuous shooting of 3 frames per second for up to 21 consecutive shots. The D1H was oriented towards fast action photography, keeping the same 2.7 megapixels image sensor as the D1, but pushing the frame rate to 5 frame/s for up to 40 consecutive shots. Both the D1H and D1X use the sRGB/AdobeRGB color spaces, which is an improvement over the original D1.
. The DCS cameras were based upon 35 mm SLR cameras, replacing the film back with one incorporating a CCD sensor. This in turn was connected to a power supply and image processing and storage unit that was either carried separately or attached to the base of the camera body. While these cameras offered the convenience of digital imaging to normal photographers, their appeal was limited by huge price-tags and issues with sensor size, resolution, and performance in comparison to film.
Nikon therefore stood to gain a significant market advantage if they could manage to offer a digital camera that had been designed and built as one from the beginning. The goal was ambitious - Nikon sought to produce professional-grade cameras using large high-resolution sensors for but a few thousand dollars at a time when the Kodak DCS 460
, based on a Nikon F90X and provided with a 6 megapixel 27.6 × 18.4 mm CCD sensor, was retailing for over US$30,000. Price though was but one of the hurdles encountered - engineers had to consider how to design and mass-produce a high-resolution and high-sensitivity sensor that could be powered by batteries and sustain a continuous frame-rate suitable for journalistic use.
Initially no sensor manufacturer was prepared to produce the sensor for Nikon, believing that the predicted sales volumes were completely unrealistic. Eventually though a foundry was located and prototype designs entered production. Several years of refinement followed - working to reduce power use and improve read speeds - until a design was perfected.
The final design that was used in the D1 was for a 23.7 × 15.6 mm CCD producing images with a final resolution of 2000 × 1312 pixels (approximately 2.7 megapixels), and this was the figure used for marketing the camera. The sensor was praised for its high base sensitivity of ISO 200, its excellent signal-to-noise ratio especially at base sensitivity, and its capacity for continuous shooting at five frames per second.
As said by Bjørn Rørslett, the camera spelt "The End of The Beginning (of the digital era) - The Beginning of The End (of the film era)". It is one of the major milestone in the development of the digital camera. Even at that time, it was not without notice how these affect the fate of Kodak which dominate both film and digital camera/sensor market at that time.
In a later "behind the scenes" interview published on the Nikon website http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/scene/12/index.htm it was revealed by the General Manager of Nikon's Imaging Development Management Department that the sensor developed for and used in the D1, and subsequently the D1H, actually utilised 10.8 million photosites rather than the 2.7 million that had previously been suggested. This allowed multiple photosites to be grouped together into units that formed the final pixels in the image, contributing to the sensor's high sensitivity and excellent SNR.
Digital single-lens reflex camera
Most digital single-lens reflex cameras are digital cameras that use a mechanical mirror system and pentaprism to direct light from the lens to an optical viewfinder on the back of the camera....
introduced on June 15, 1999. It featured a 2.7 megapixel image sensor, 4.5 frames per second continuous shooting, and accepted the full range of Nikon F-mount
Nikon F-mount
The Nikon F-mount is a type of interchangeable lens mount developed by Nikon for its 35 mm SLR cameras. The F-mount was first introduced on the Nikon F camera in 1959, and features a three lug bayonet mount with a 44 mm throat and a flange to focal plane distance of 46.5 mm...
lenses. The camera body strongly resembled the F5
Nikon F5
The Nikon F5 is a 35 mm film-based single-lens reflex camera body manufactured by Nikon from 1996 through 2004. It was the fifth in Nikon's professional film camera line, which began in 1959 with the Nikon F. It followed the Nikon F4 of 1988, which had introduced in-body autofocus to Nikon's...
and had the same general layout of controls, allowing users of Nikon film SLR cameras to quickly become proficient in using the camera. Autofocus speed on the D1 series bodies is extremely fast, even with "screw-driven" AF lenses.
Although Nikon and other manufacturers had produced digital SLR cameras for several years prior, the D1 was the first professional digital SLR that displaced Kodak's then-undisputed reign over the professional market.
Unusual for a DSLR, the D1 uses the NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
color space instead of the conventional sRGB or Adobe RGB color spaces. The resulting color on the D1 can be a bit unorthodox, but methods of correcting and/or compensating for the color problem are readily available.
D1H and D1X
Development and its significance plus its Sensor Design
Development began on the D1 in 1996, when digital imaging was in its infancy in the consumer market. At that time the major market leader for DSLR cameras was Kodak, who produced their own image sensors and assembled digital cameras under the brand Kodak DCSKodak DCS
The Kodak Digital Camera System is a series of digital single-lens reflex cameras and digital camera backs that were released by Kodak in the 1990s and 2000s, and discontinued in 2005. They were all based on existing 35mm film SLRs from Nikon and Canon...
. The DCS cameras were based upon 35 mm SLR cameras, replacing the film back with one incorporating a CCD sensor. This in turn was connected to a power supply and image processing and storage unit that was either carried separately or attached to the base of the camera body. While these cameras offered the convenience of digital imaging to normal photographers, their appeal was limited by huge price-tags and issues with sensor size, resolution, and performance in comparison to film.
Nikon therefore stood to gain a significant market advantage if they could manage to offer a digital camera that had been designed and built as one from the beginning. The goal was ambitious - Nikon sought to produce professional-grade cameras using large high-resolution sensors for but a few thousand dollars at a time when the Kodak DCS 460
Kodak DCS 400 series
The Kodak DCS 400 series was a series of Nikon based digital SLR cameras with sensor and added electronics produced by Eastman Kodak.The cameras in this series include the 1.5-megapixel DCS 420 , the 1.5-mpx DCS 410 , and the 6.2-mpx DCS 460...
, based on a Nikon F90X and provided with a 6 megapixel 27.6 × 18.4 mm CCD sensor, was retailing for over US$30,000. Price though was but one of the hurdles encountered - engineers had to consider how to design and mass-produce a high-resolution and high-sensitivity sensor that could be powered by batteries and sustain a continuous frame-rate suitable for journalistic use.
Initially no sensor manufacturer was prepared to produce the sensor for Nikon, believing that the predicted sales volumes were completely unrealistic. Eventually though a foundry was located and prototype designs entered production. Several years of refinement followed - working to reduce power use and improve read speeds - until a design was perfected.
The final design that was used in the D1 was for a 23.7 × 15.6 mm CCD producing images with a final resolution of 2000 × 1312 pixels (approximately 2.7 megapixels), and this was the figure used for marketing the camera. The sensor was praised for its high base sensitivity of ISO 200, its excellent signal-to-noise ratio especially at base sensitivity, and its capacity for continuous shooting at five frames per second.
As said by Bjørn Rørslett, the camera spelt "The End of The Beginning (of the digital era) - The Beginning of The End (of the film era)". It is one of the major milestone in the development of the digital camera. Even at that time, it was not without notice how these affect the fate of Kodak which dominate both film and digital camera/sensor market at that time.
In a later "behind the scenes" interview published on the Nikon website http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/technology/scene/12/index.htm it was revealed by the General Manager of Nikon's Imaging Development Management Department that the sensor developed for and used in the D1, and subsequently the D1H, actually utilised 10.8 million photosites rather than the 2.7 million that had previously been suggested. This allowed multiple photosites to be grouped together into units that formed the final pixels in the image, contributing to the sensor's high sensitivity and excellent SNR.
Official sites
- Nikon D1 Product Page – Nikon Global Website
- Nikon D1H Product Page – Nikon Global Website
- Nikon D1X Product Page – Nikon Global Website
Reviews
- ByThom.com review of the D1, D1h and D1x
- "The End of The Beginning - The Beginning of The End" A review of D1 by Bjørn Rørslett
- "Into the Night with Nikon D1X" by Bjørn Rørslett
- dpreview.com review of the D1
- dpreview.com review of the D1h
- dpreview.com review of the D1x
- photo.net review of the D1h
- Lonestar.net review of the D1, D1h and D1x
- imaging-resource.com review of the D1h